The present invention, as stated in the heading of this specification, relates to a removable covering for surfaces applicable to floors, terraces, gardens, swimming pool areas, home interiors, food-handling facilities, etc.
It is easily removable, allowing the proper elimination of water and fluids which may be dropped on its surface.
Comprising mainly paired pieces: a bottom piece as a base or support made of a plastic material and a top piece made essentially of a ceramic material, the two being joined together by their faces in contact with one another, each pair of pieces comprising a tile assembly which is anchored with the adjacent ones by means of ancillary attachment elements located on the perimetric edges of the plastic base piece.
One objective of this invention is a new arrangement of the attachment elements which makes it possible to connect any adjacent edges of the tiles assembly to one another such that the decorative motifs of the ceramic pieces may be combined in different ways.
Another objective of this invention focuses on a new structure of the attachment elements, thus achieving a better connection of the pieces with a greater degree of stability, whilst also making the vertical removal of each tile assembly easier.
Also innovative is the placement of the starting point of the attachment elements, by means of which sturdier, stronger anchorings are achieved.
Means are also included for centering the top piece with respect to the bottom piece, these means also allowing for a physical separation between the different tile assemblies.
Different floor coverings currently exist, special mention being made of those which are applied to exterior surfaces for facilitating the elimination of rainwater and also in swimming pool areas.
In some cases, the coverings comprise pieces made of a plastic material which are of a hollow structure of a certain thickness forming a water-removal chamber underneath.
These coverings can entail hygiene-related problems, which aesthetically also leaves much to be desired.
In other cases, the coverings comprise bodies manufactured using porous materials, which, although it be true that they are capable of eliminating a certain flow of water, do become saturated at higher flowrates. The porosity of such bodies also facilitates, in some cases, the proliferation of fungi and bacteria.
Spanish Patent No. P-200402065 consists of a covering for surfaces comprising the combination of certain bottom draining support elements and top plaques which are attached to said supporting bodies such that when water falls on this covering, be it rainwater, pool water or other types of water, this fluid does not remain on the outer exposed surface, but rather runs into the bottom chamber formed by the draining supporting elements through separating grooves between the plaques when they are made of a ceramic or similar material.
All of these coverings, including that of Spanish Patent No. P-200402065, have the limitation of not being able to attach any one of the perimetric edges of the tile assemblies adjacent to one another to each other, which limits the possibilities of achieving different combinations in the decoration of the ceramic pieces.
To cover all of these possibilities, it would be necessary to place the decoration of the tiles in several different positions or to join the ceramic piece to the base in different positions, which would complicate the entire process.